The Domino Theory and the Vietnam War Free Essay Example

The USA feared the spread of communism in Southern Asia which is why they became involved with Vietnam. Unfortunately, the Americans were not victorious and were unable to defeat the Vietcong, causing more opposition to the war back at home as the increase of communism continued to increase. The main theory that the USA used to join the Vietnam war was inspired by a row of dominoes - the Domino Theory.

From the 1950s to 1980s, the Domino Theory was the idea that if one country was influenced by communism, then it was common that the neighbouring countries would also follow - similar to a row of dominoes falling over. First introduced by US President Harry S. Truman, this idea was later applied to by the following president of the USA in 1954, Dwight D. Eisenhower who was determined to prevent South Vietnam from falling to communism. This was the theory that America used to intervene in the Vietnam War. The fear and tension first began in 1949 when China became a communist country under the leadership of Mao Zedong who had been influenced by the Soviet Union. 

During World War Two Vietnam had been invaded by Japan however before that the country was part of the French Empire. The leader of the Vietminh ( a resistance army which fought for Vietnamese independence) was Ho Chi Minh who declared Vietnam independent in 1945 by capturing Hanoi. The French attempted to regain control over Vietnam in 1954 but were unsuccessful as the Treaty of Geneva concluded that they were to leave Vietnam. It was decided that Vietnam would be split into two along the 17th Parallel until further elections were held. These elections were never held and Vietnam remained as a divided country. Ho Chi Minh led North Vietnam which was a communist republic, whereas South Vietnam was a capitalist republic led by Ngo Dinh Diem. Communist leader Ho Chi Minh wanted to unite the country and many South Vietnamese civilians even supported the North as they were unhappy with their own leader. The US did not want this to occur as the domino effect would have started to take place and surrounding countries would also be impacted. The split caused a war between the North and South of Vietnam and from 1958 onwards the South received many attacks from communists in South Vietnam itself by the Viet Cong. 

On the 2nd of August 1964, the North Vietnamese attacked the US Navy on the Gulf of Tonkin by using torpedo boats. This was the incident that led the United States to engage immediately in the Vietnam War. In response to this, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was made by the US Congress allowing President Lyndon B. Johnson to retaliate against the Viet Cong attacks. Operation Rolling Thunder was created in February 1965, a massive bombing strategy used in oppositon to North Vietnam. 

In conclusion, I somewhat agree that Domino Theory was the main factor for America’s involvement in the Vietnam War as the US feared the spread of communism in Asia which would cause further disagreements and would lengthen the Cold War. However, I do also disagree to a certain extent as the Gulf of Tonkin incident was said to be the cause that led the USA to directly engage in the war.